Watsonville police found Mario Daniel Hernandez, 19, of Watsonville, suffering from gunshot wounds to his upper torso after responding to reports of a shooting at 10:40 p.m. at an outdoor apartment complex common area on the 200 block of Clifford Avenue, said police Lt. Saul Gonzalez.

Hernandez was taken to Watsonville Community Hospital, where he died as a result of his wounds, according to Gonzalez said.

By 11:30 a.m. Monday, detectives tracked the suspected shooter, whose name is not being released because he is a minor, to the 2400 block of Freedom Boulevard. The teen was arrested without incident, Gonzalez said. He declined to provide any detail on how the two were linked or how investigators came to arrest the suspected shooter.

In cases involving people 25 years old and younger, particularly, police investigation work continues to dig into the “whys” of the case, even after a suspect is in custody, said Gonzalez.

“Every time we have someone young in age or a juvenile, and I mean someone 25 and under, we always try to figure out what was the motivating factor behind to see if we could have prevented it by any measures — through law enforcement or social services or anything,” Gonzalez said. “The biggest thing is that we really don”t know what the exact motive was right now. We have a lot of speculation, but not until we kind of go through a process of elimination and narrow it down will we know exactly why it happened.”

The victim, Hernandez, was in Watsonville police custody when he was about 16 years old for unspecified charges, and had not been arrested locally since, Gonzalez said.

Though investigators have not yet determined a motive for the shooting, they do not believe it is linked to the Nov. 17 shooting death of Jesus Rocha, 33, from Watsonville, Gonzalez said. The suspected shooter has gang ties, but Gonzalez said investigators are not saying the shooting was gang-motivated.

A motive in last week”s killing also has not been determined, but police are seeking 29-year-old Damian Baxter of Watsonville as a person of interest in the case, which relatives say what fueled by a love triangle.

Sunday”s shooting marks the fourth homicide in Watsonville this year and the seventh in the county.

Watsonville police ask anyone with information to call investigations at 831-471-1151 or leave an anonymous tip on the tipline at 831-768-3544 or by texting WATSPD to 888777.

Santa Cruz County homicides 2015

April 3: Samuel Weinberg, an 18-year-old from Santa Cruz, was killed in a drive-by shooting near North Pacific Avenue and River Street in Santa Cruz. Two Santa Cruz men were arrested in the attack, Brandon Aaron Thomas and Jonah Kaleikaumaka Namauu. The three men knew each other and had a “brief run-in” in a parking lot earlier in the night, police said.

June 6: While serving an arrest warrant for Alejandro Campos Fernandez, Watsonville police chased Fernandez to the Pajaro River levee. Fernandez, a 45-year-old from Watsonville, fired a shotgun at a police sergeant, who was struck but not badly injured. The sergeant and another officer fired back. Fernandez was declared dead at the scene.

June 12: Carlos Vasquez Martinez, 27, was found fatally shot in the upper torso near the 900 block of Main Street near a homeless encampment in Watsonville. Police found Martinez, who was declared dead at the scene, about 100 yards away from 999 Main St., near a gully in the brush along the slough. Luciano Acevedo Jr., a 32-year-old from Salinas, was arrested after a two-hour standoff at a Salinas motel on June 20. He was charged with murder.

July 9: Cyrus Hurtado, a 17-year-old from Boulder Creek, was shot and killed by Santa Cruz County sheriff”s deputies who responded to a report of a family fight. After deputies set up a perimeter and waited for a negotiator, the teen emerged from the home with a loaded Winchester Model 1894 lever action rifle in hand. After deputies ordered the teen to put the gun down, he pointed it at them, prompting deputies to shoot. The teen died while in surgery July 10.

July 26: Eight-year-old Madyson Middleton was found brutally strangled, beaten and sexually assaulted in the recycling bin near her apartment at the Tannery. Adrian Jere Gonzalez, 15, has been charged with her death.

Nov. 17: Jesus Rocha, 33, shot and killed by 11:30 a.m. on the 200 block of Palm Avenue in Watsonville after an argument between two men. Rocha was pronounced dead on the scene, and police are seeking 29-year-old Damian Baxter of Watsonville as a person of interest.

Nov. 22: Mario Daniel Hernandez, 19, of Watsonville, died of gunshot wounds to his upper torso after a shooting at 10:40 p.m. on the 200 block of Clifford Avenue. A 16-year-old has been arrested in connection with the death. —— (c)2015 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) Visit the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) at www.santacruzsentinel.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. AMX-2015-11-24T05:16:00-05:00